Cursed
by SpeaksInRiddles
Summary: The seeming end of one's tale can coincide with the beginning of another, even separated by time as our two protagonists had been. AKA: That story in which a finished sentence made ALL the (initial) difference. (Headcanons galore due to a glaring lack of actual game lore.) Rating might go up in the future.
1. Prologue

**AN: I'm back!. I've been sitting on the first chapters of this story for like forever, and decided to post it. It features a lot of headcanon, due to gaping hole that is the game's lore. (Yeah, my previous Aura Kingdom stories lacked it for pretty much that one reason.)**

* * *

Once upon a time there had been two realms, who had been fighting since times immemorial. Pandemonium on one side, and the Aura Kingdom on the other.

Once upon a time there had been two realms, who were content to just fight each other to extinction, not involving anyone else.

Once upon a time, that war spilled over into Azuria.

And today, today it would finally come to an end.

* * *

Two armies stood against each other in the gorge. One army was composed of many races, both of Azuria and the Aura Kingdom. The other consisted of demons and dimensional ogres amongst most others.

On one of the cliffsides, the 6 of us stood. We were a motley group, what with Ririko being an elf, Nightshade a penguin, the Makar Sora and the dwarf Elesius. Then there was Elaine, plain, old human, and me, not so plain, but decidedly old, human, me, even if my looks didn't reflect it.

Sora cast a solemn look towards the battlefield, before making eye contact with me. I shrugged helplessly, and tried to give my trademark easy grin, albeit failing horribly, it turning into more of a grimace.

Everyone here knew the battle would soon commence.

Elesius, who had been tinkering with his weapon, sitting with his back against the tree stood up, before brushing himself of. Elaine was busy fussing over her lover Ririko, who had been wounded in the clash before.

Nightshade decided to break the tension with squawking. The others send me a questioning look, having been raised in a village of penguinmancers together with Elaine, but when they saw my beet red head, they continued with what they were doing.

Elaine, finally having escaped Ririko's ministrations, decided to come stand next to me. "So… My sister, huh…". I opened and closed my mouth in horror, the words not coming out.

Everyone knew how big of a crush I had on Eclaire, well, safe Elaine, and I had wanted to keep it that way, Elaine turning even scarier when a man expressed even the slightest interest in her twin. Damn that penguin!

"You'll be good for each other"

My gaping like a fish continued, as she walked towards Ririko again. Had… She… Just given her approval?

My expression morphed into a goofy grin.

* * *

I could feel it all around me, the life of my companions dimming, before coming to an abrupt end

* * *

I bit back a scream, as my opponent's blade hacked into my arm, my weapon clattering to the ground.

* * *

For what seemed like an eternity hidden in a moment, time seemed to be barely passing.

The war against the invaders would be lost without a miracle, that much was clear to me in that moment. In response my thoughts turned to _her_ once more, to all I was fighting for, before my despair turned to resolution.

I was broken, battered and beaten, and had but one recourse left to me. if victory was to be ours. The very thought of going through with it filled me with disgust, but there was too much hinging on this, hinging on me. I turned my attention to the small connection to Pandemonium in my soul that had been slowly, but surely widening for a long time. I hesitated for one last moment, before nodding to Alessa, my faithful companion of many years.

**"Oh spirit…****"**, I began, my eyes beginning to blur from tears, as everything I had wanted for the future, everything that had nearly been inside my grasp, was torn apart by my own two hands.

**"I offer up my soul…" **


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: Plot Twist immediately incoming!  
(Note that, despite this story being written in third person, it pretty much draws on his knowledge alone for now. Which is heavily outdated. I would have gone with first person perspective for this chapter too, had it not been for the fact that the style change would be confusing later on.)**

* * *

Many things could be said about him, that much was true. Only a few of those things however, would include something like being an idiot –unless it came to Eclaire-. He had lived for many years after all, and had been quick in the uptake for most of them.

So when the Envoy woke up in a dilapated version of the temple they had cajoled him into after the battle, it didn't take him long to put two and two together.

**"Those ingrates sealed me!"**

This wasn't a very nice thing to say, that much he knew. _'But'_, Sonjurno thought spitefully, _'Sealing someone isn't very nice thing to do, especially since I only reached for more power to save the Gaia damned realm.'_

**"I'm going to destroy the world…"**, he melodramatically said, not noticing the girl who had slipped into the room, moments before. At hearing this the little intruder was obviously alarmed, and she readied her weapon.

Again, Sonjurno didn't immediately notice this. In another world, said little intruder might have come to slay him in the end. In this world, however, he managed to voice the rest of that thought, putting a stop to a certain sequence of events.

**"…Did they all –SERIOUSLY- expect me to be like that or something…"**

This caused the girl to faceplant right into the ground, not having expected that.

* * *

At the noise of metal clanging on stone, the Envoy looked up in surprise, seeing the intruder.

Again, in another world, she might not have fallen due to Sonjurno not being able to finish his comment, and when she attacked he would have entered auto-defence mode, especially due to the power of Gaia she was radiating.

Now don't misunderstand. Being an Envoy of Gaia didn't necessarily mean being evil, him being a prime example, but it came pretty damn close. Envoys of Gaia were hated widely, and many of them didn't take well to that, causing them to lash out, perpetuating the cycle.

Had it not been for the fact that someone had reached out to him, a lonely, hurting boy, he would have been much the same, but that's a story for another time.

In said hypothetical other world, Sonjurno would have worded his next sentence awkwardly, only solidifying his evil status in her mind. In this one, he luckily didn't, on account of the encounter not having followed the same route.

**"Are you alright, little one?"**, Sonjurno asked, crouching over her.

The answer came in the form of a muffled "No".

* * *

This caused him to sweatdrop at first, but when the male examined her condition, it seemed to be pretty accurate. She was covered with scars, abrasions, bruises, cuts and burn marks all over. Some old, but an equal amount of them appeared to be very new.

Sonjurno was not a healer primarily, or even secondarily, but it's a useful skill. Not only can you keep fighting for longer if needed, it's also easy coin, especially since basic sanitation seemed to be awful in the countryside.

He carefully called upon the power in him, which was proving harder than expected. Something which he should have realised beforehand though, as he was an envoy that had forced the third stage after all.

* * *

_The first stage gives a mortal access to the power of our own world, gaining partial immortality and an unlimited supply of magic power. The second stage, which usually comes soon after the first, is being able to access the Aura Kingdom through contracting an Eidolon. Something which, while originally taking careful meditation, may also be forcibly done, though it requires a lot of power, and a focus of incredible strength._

_Forcing it heightens the chance of the Eidolon becoming corrupted though, in turn corrupting the user._

_The third stage, in a perfect world, would take a long time to complete. This is the connection to Pandemonium. Again, this can be forced though, with a far more physical consequence. It's usually called 'Falling' in official texts, but in layman's term could be called zombification._

* * *

Having forced the third stage, Sonjurno's abilities were a mess, with far too much corrosive magic power being channelled into him from his link to Pandemonium. Something that, while excellent for attacking, was far less for the healing he was trying to accomplish.

Nevertheless, the power of Azuria and the Aura Kingdom was far more familiar to him, allowing him to take hold of it amidst the chaotic sea.

Sonjurno reached out to touch the girl with a single finger, causing her to flinch, even before I made contact. The Envoy's hand halted, and his expression turned pained as the sight of it made him realise what had caused said response..

Ah, that was true, wasn't it?

To the world he wasn't human anymore.


End file.
